Great Bustard Old Country. Walk 3: Cranswick and Bustard Nest Farm

A pleasant morning with blue skies and a light northerly wind, I take the train to Hutton Cranswick for a circular walk around Bustard Nest Farm. I walk through the village, stopping in the lovely village pond, and after crossing Beverley Road, I take Burnbutts Lane, a single track road across arable land. It is a very gentle uphill to the Wolds, from the 10 m of the railway station to 44 m at Old Field. At first, thick, tall hedges block the views, but soon these become broad flat verges with no ditches and there are expansive vistas across large fields towards the upper reaches of the Hull Valley. These uninterrupted views, allowing a look out, is the ideal Great Bustard landscape. A large Common Gull flock loaf in the middle of one of the fields. Rooks and Jackdaws feed and wheel noisily, and Skylarks chase, one bursting into a short spell of song. I see the occasional Yellowhammer, on hedges and trees.

Rook.

The pond on Cranswick village green.

Mallard.

A large patch of Bogbean.

Starling singing.

Rook calling.

Pied Wagtail.

I get to the pretty Little Bustard farm. Its name alludes not to the Little Bustard species, but to the fact that it is a smaller farm than Bustard Nest farm. A Kestrel hunts from the trees at the bottom of the garden and sparrows, both House and Tree sparrows, call from the hedges. The fields between both farms have a great diversity of birds, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting and I'm delighted to spot a small flock of Corn Buntings on the wires.

Little Bustard Farm.

The sign at Little Bustard farm.

Kestrel.

Common Gulls loafing.

Corn Buntings.

Corn Buntings.

Yellowhammer.

The broad verges and lack of ditches of the wolds.

Bustard Nest farm in the distance.

What’s in a name?

Toponyms (place names), can give an indication of the lost animals in an area. I have spoken on this blog about the link between the name of Beverley and Beavers, and we have sub-fossil evidence of beavers near the town. The name Cranswick has a link to Cranes, which likely abounded on the river Hull Valley long ago. The name Bustard Nest farm has long intrigued me. The mixed farm is less than 1.5 miles west of Cranswick, in the gentle eastern foothills of the Wolds. I haven't found any documents related to when and why the farm got its name. It appears with that name in the 1st edition of OS maps, in 1852, and it's mentioned in local newspapers as early as 1831, but not in Jeffrey's 1771 (which includes the nearby Burn Butts, after which the lane I'm walking is named). The farm building doesn't look too old, so perhaps it was built just after the enclosure of the land, possibly when the Great Bustard was already extinct, but close to that time to be in the memory of those involved. I'd like to think that a Bustard nest was found locally before the farm was built and the farmer honoured the presence of the species. The name bustard also appears in Little Bustard Farm nearby, and Bustard nest Fox Covert, the only bustard toponyms in East Yorkshire. In a future walk we'll visit North Dalton, in which parish the only existing Great Bustard egg was found. It's highly likely that the Great Bustard also roamed the parish of Hutton Cranswick. Great to think that the area has place names for both of these locally lost names. The Cranes are slowly making inroads into the Hull Valley. Is there a future for the Great Bustard here too?

Red Kite by Burnsbutt Farm.

Buzzard soaring above.

Common and Black-headed Hulls follow a tractor.

This section is a short stretch of the Minster Way. I get here at midday and stop for a quick lunch. I've planned all the walks of the series on the OS map app. I initially was going to carry on to Bainton, but I have a change of heart and decide to turn back via another right of way that passes by Bustard Nest fox covert. The appeal of the Bustard toponyms is too much to resist.

The area is crossed by now dismantled Driffield to Selby railway line. The section between Driffield and Market Weigthon opened in 1890, closed in 1954. Unlike the Hudson Way, there is no public right of way on the line. Some embankments and cuttings remain, but the level areas are now completely erased and now are continuous fields. This bridge of the road over the railway near Neswick Farm reminds us of the lost railway line.

Bustard Nest Fox Covert in the background.

Some apples on the hedges.

The footpath skirts Bustard Nest Fox Covert, after a footbridge.

A field by Bustard Nest Farm has been planted with chicory as cover crop, and there is a large covey of partridges near it.

A highland cow at Bustard Nest Farm.

Pond at Bustard Nest Farm.

This Brown Hare let me approach quite close, and then sprinted through the field.

Travel. Train to Hutton-Cranswick. East Yorkshire bus 41 between Hull and Bridlington stops at Hutton Cranswick.

Route. Circular route from Cranswick, Bustard Nest Farm. 12 km. OS Map. Farm Shop and Cafe at Cranswick.